6 Reasons Why Every Woman Should Practice Yoga

6 Reasons Why Every Woman Should Practice Yoga

Yoga is a combination of exercises, meditation, therapy and deep breathing techniques that has been around for over 5,000 years. It was developed to revitalize the body and attain a longer, healthier life. Over the last few decades, it has found its way to virtually every aspect of our lives.

Even though yoga is more popular among women as compared to men, we see only a fraction of them reaping its benefits. In reality, amidst the various types of yoga women can undoubtedly find the perfect recipe for a joyous and healthier lifestyle. Here, we’ve outlined 6 crucial reasons why every woman should adopt yoga.

1. Regain control of your body

For centuries, women have struggled to find the secret to flawless and timeless vivacity. As it turns out, the magical ingredient that brings lasting youth comes from consistent physical care in the form of age-old techniques like yoga.

Yoga enables the optimization of bodily functions via an array of mental and physical exercises. It makes you look and feel great and even slows down the aging process when done regularly. So, what can yoga do for your body? The list is endless, but let’s have a quick look at the most significant benefits of yoga.

Helps you connect with your body:

Women are inherently beautiful, however, the true essence of a woman’s beauty lies in the confidence with which she owns her attractive qualities. Women who do not indulge in any form of physical activity aren’t able to connect with their bodies or realize their true significance. Yoga gives you the opportunity to deeply connect with your body, and appreciate and modify it for the better. Yogic exercises work to improve our physical state such that we grow to love being in our own skin.

Healing benefits:

Women, by nature, are accommodating, nurturing and capable of multitasking. However, today’s demanding and stressful lifestyle takes a slow but inevitable toll on them and that is why, the world over, women are affected with ailments such as breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, depression, polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) osteoporosis and many others. Whereas, these can easily be avoided with just a little bit of care.

The various forms of yoga combine meditation, breath control and muscle strengthening and stretching exercises to relieve varying types of health conditions. A few of them are listed below:

Research indicates that yoga provides relief for chronic pain over and above standard healthcare. And yes, this means that you no longer have to endure aching menstrual cramps or PMS. This is due to the fact that yogic exercises relieve stress to enable weaker contractions, increase blood flow towards the pelvic section, regulate your hormones and keep your muscles warm and strong. Yoga is also particularly beneficial for the back, neck and joint pains, fibromyalgia and arthritis.

Yoga works to enhance circulation and reduces stress to give you glowing skin, free from blisters, acne and blemishes. Moreover, regular asanas also slow the aging process of the skin.

Asanas give you a good workout by strengthening your heart, bones and muscles and improving flexibility. Our bones tend to become weak with time, therefore, weight bearing asanas or poses are especially recommended for women.

Several researches have also found yoga to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.

As it strengthens the body, yoga also strengthens and cleanses our minds. Breathing techniques harmonize the left and right hemispheres of the brain, leading to an elevated correlation among logical reasoning and emotions, and consequently sharpens the mind.

Women are fascinating creatures. They are innately sensitive, yet strong enough to curb their feelings to act in a responsible manner. This constant adherence to norms in addition to multiple responsibilities may lead to stress, anxiety or even depression.

This is where yoga works its magic. It teaches you to channel out negative feelings and replace them with positive ones thus securing your mind from anxiety and giving you much greater control over your emotions. Moreover, specific poses such as Virabhadrasanas (warriors), Arm balances, and Tree poses are designed to make women feel empowered and confident. Therefore, we see that yoga has a visible impact on our self-esteem, and vivacity is a natural result of that.

3. Explore spirituality

Yoga maintains that our existence comprises of three key elements i.e. our bodies, our minds and our souls and none of these can flourish without the other two. Yogic techniques enable you to phase out worries and simply ‘be’ your best self. As you practice soothing yogic techniques you begin to connect deeply with your body, mind and soul and realize the presence and significance of all three.

Asanas including Matsyasana, (Fish), Ustrasana (Camel) teach you to open your heart, thus, making you even more compassionate, accommodating and composed. According to yoga gurus, devotion to yoga will eventually lead to a heightened awareness of the self, followed by the ultimate stage which is attaining closeness to God (or whatever you higher being may be).

4. Yoga is for all stages of your life

Our lives demand different things from us at different stages and yoga empowers and equips you for each of these stages. According to Hatha Yoga Pradipika; yoga is for any individual of 15 years of age or above who wishes to enhance her physical, mental and spiritual condition. Today, we see everyone from adolescents to seniors performing yoga for a wide array of reasons. Let’s take a look at some age-specific benefits of yoga:

Teenage:

As we enter adolescence, we are presented with a huge number of new challenges including puberty, search for identity, acceptance of a fast changing body, peer pressures and academics. All this tends to be difficult to manage and we find many teenagers suffering from depression be it minor or severe.

In such an instance, yoga offers them quite a few minutes each day to let go of stress and put things into perspective. It reminds them of the uniqueness, beauty and significance of their body, mind and soul, thus making them happy in their own skin. It works wonders in terms of reducing anxiety, boosting optimism and encouraging a cohesive atmosphere free from competition.

Adulthood:

As we enter adulthood, we experience challenges associated with managing a career and family life, childbirth and menopause. Researches show that yoga helps to reduce stress in expecting women, helps them feel connected to their unborn child, prepares their bodies for delivery and balances hormones. Moreover, yoga techniques such as ‘the menopause pose’ sequence substantially helps with symptoms associated with menopause.

Old Age:

As we age, we become prone to ailments and as mentioned before, yoga is by far the safest and most effective way of relieving an array of physical, emotional and mental conditions.

5. Yoga is for all body types

Whether you’re average-sized, skinny or a plus, the best thing about yoga is that it can be modified according to your specific needs. Yoga can be practiced with any body type and is guaranteed to make you feel great about what you have been blessed with.

6. Because you deserve the best

Women tend to overextend themselves out of love and most of them give least priority to their own well-being which results in burnout, stress and several other health conditions. Therefore, yoga becomes essential as it gives you a couple of minutes each day when it’s only and entirely about you.

You can also extract a week or two to enjoy a thorough yoga retreat that will guide and train you on the techniques most suited for your body as you enjoy being surrounded by nature. You will understand just how valuable and strong you are, and leave the retreat feeling happy and refreshed.

Audrey Throne is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her blogs.

Private Session With Kristin

Enjoy a private yoga, Pilates, or personal training session with me in the comfort of your home, private studio, or location of your choice. I customize and tailor each session to each client’s needs. You get unique personal attention, support, and the encouragement to meet your fitness, health, and wellbeing goals. Are you ready to commit to your fitness goals and see real results?